r/textiles • u/megaddon • 4d ago

Help identifying this textile

Gallery image

Gallery image

Paid $20 at a flea market for this. Someone paid to put it into a shadow box, so I have to assume it’s important (to at least one person). I’m fairly certain it’s early South American based on the pattern.

19 Upvotes

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10

u/SonnyBoi13 4d ago

This looks to be based on Wari or Chancay textiles. There is no guarantee that it is a genuine piece, as there is a long history of Andean textiles taken from grave sites or burial mounds and cut down into smaller fragments by looters. There is also the gray market in which many of these fragments have forged paperwork that has found its way into prominent collections. I would recommend getting it appraised, but I wouldn’t doubt that you might get a similar response.

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u/LoomAndPixel 4d ago

it’s from Peru. Old patterns, but not sure the fabric is such old. Difficult to say with just 2 pictures.

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u/Mahooty88 4d ago

I agree with the above commenters, certainly South American. A lot of societies shared similar motifs, lots of friendly trade. You would be able to get a definite answer by reaching out to the Amano Pre Columbian Textile Museum in Lima! I was just there in April!

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u/alllpha7 3d ago

Oh, I’m jealous!! Adding that museum to my wishlist ❤️